been seeing some… interesting takes this weekend following this week’s episodes and i have Some Thoughts i’d like to get off of chest before i lose my mind (this is gonna be v long i’m afraid but it is what it is)
i find it particularly interesting that most of the criticism being shared around are bits that have been done and/or addressed by the characters themselves within the show? which should make one wonder if mayhaps it’s being done for narrative purposes? like saying shinsegye are still not really acting or working together as team as of now (which is true) is exactly what mundo tells them both in episode 10 when he taunts them by saying they showed up to confront him separately instead of coordinating? or saying how segye in particular is ten steps behind mundo (again, very accurate as of now) and is letting him walk all over him when you have segye himself say how meeting and being with seori has changed his perspective on what truly matters in life? and how love has made him a little bit dumb as well? but he also immediately follows it up by stating he’ll still fight for and get back what’s rightfully his and won’t go down easily.
and it does feel like shinsegye are dealing with their conflicts on their own right now because, well, they are! but it’s also a little bit difficult for each of them to help the other in a materialistic capacity given the nature of their conflicts (though they are doing the best they can on an emotional level.) seori is very much going through an existential crisis right now. she doesn’t know who she is or where she belongs or even if she deserves to exist at all and it’s all happening in her head. she’s fighting a battle with her own brain, and now is segye supposed to reach through that? it makes sense that there’s not much he can do about it in concrete actions (he can read books or take her to see doctors or shamans but it still won’t be enough simply due to the supernatural nature of it.) similarly, segye is dealing with his side of corporate politics against mundo mostly on his own because at the end of the day it’s more his world than hers and he just naturally has a lot more material resources (money, connections, name, status…) than seori to be able to deal with it. though what seori lacks in said material resources, she makes up for with her intellect because she is smart and quick to adapt and i do hope we eventually get to see her help out in her own way. even more so, i hope we see them work together to take down mundo because seori deserves to get a few hits in as well for all the shit he put her through in both lifetimes. so yes, they both have been rather passive these past two episodes and have mostly been reacting to the shit happening to them and processing information being spoon fed to them but this will obviously (or hopefully at least) change and turn around in the next and final episodes.
what’s also been so ironic (and hilarious) to me is watching segye say he’s been feeling good recently despite everything shit continuously hitting the fan (mind you his life is literally in shambles any way you look at it and she’s straight up losing her mind) but it’s so fascinating when you think about how shinsegye have been so loud and explosive and chaotic and grand and majestic in almost everything they did throughout the past ten episodes, like in the way they met and fell for each other and realized and accepted their feelings and confessed and proclaimed their love for one another and got together and fought and made up etc… and just when the world around them crumbles and falls apart and goes up in flames, they instead slow down!!!! they carve out this soft and quiet little spot for themselves in this big and cruel and messy world and they slow down and in turn share some of their most tender and sincere and vulnerable moments and conversations to date. and i just genuinely thought it was such an interesting and cool narrative choice.
we also got to see more of their little acts of love for each other. seori finding out segye got interrogated by the police and insisting she gets discharged quickly then immediately taking him to dinner to have a meal that allegedly helps ward off issues with authorities and segye wanting to show off his cooking skills so he makes what he knows how to make but also suspects she won’t like it so he prepares a backup meal just in case… these were all very sweet and lovely moments but i especially want to talk about the little heart emoji seori adds to his name in her phone because… like. hear me out. out of the two of them segye is definitely the loudest in his acts of love like he almost always goes big in everything he does for her. but he’s also the silliest and cheesiest and cringiest (in love) of the two of them. all the silly flirty and romantic lines have come from him, he was the one to suggest they write their names in those love padlocks and he’s the one already thinking about making plans for their 100th day together etc… so if segye had been the one to add the heart emoji next to her name i would’ve been like “oh that’s cute as hell and is such a cha segye thing to do” and moved on with my life. BUT it’s seori who does it!!! the same seori who is still abrasive and abrupt and a little bit rude and mean (affectionately) to segye even though they’re very much in a loving relationship at this point. the same seori who’d rather tease him first before showering him with love and care, and asks him out on a date and then immediately hangs up without saying goodbye or good night or even a can’t wait to see you later. THIS SAME SEORI sat down at some point between the end of episode 11 and the scene in 12 (which was like what? not even a full day?) and opened her phone and pulled up his contact info and picked out a heart emoji and added it to his name!!! and it’s so silly and so stupid and so insignificant in hindsight but it’s also so lovely and meaningful (to me at least jdhdjsjd) that it came from her and i just haven’t really seen anyone talk about this beyond saying it’s cute and i feel ridiculous losing my mind over something so small but man it’s such a fantastic little detail within the context of these characters.
on the other hand, and for whatever reason, some feel like nothing’s been happening lately? but things are in fact progressing? if in tiny little steps. shinsegye are very much changing their fate little by little. granted, there’s been a lot of back and forth in the build up but there’s always been progress. two steps forward and one step back is still one step forward. if hyeon and dansim couldn’t tell each other how they truly felt (hyeon not giving dansim the paining with the poem, dansim not giving him those little prayer/wishing rings) and failed to communicate as the king was manipulating them both which ultimately led to their demise, segye and seori have been doing the opposite of all of that, even if it’s taken them a bit of time and stumbling to get there. segye has been telling and showing seori how he feels the moment he became sure of his feelings and hasn’t looked back since. and though seori struggles a bit more in acting as quickly and consistently (which is understandable given literally everything she’s been through) she still chooses time and time again to hold onto segye and open up her heart and say what she feels instead of bottling everything up. and one thing’s that’s always been consistent in this timeline is that despite their doubts and fears and insecurities and everyone and everything (including literal time and space and FATE) working against them, at the end of every day they always find their way back to each other! and by choice too!! instead of mere chance or convenience or even fate!!!
i’d also like to point out how much i appreciate the show not using the noble idiocy trope (even if they edit their previews in ways that imply it which then sends people into a frenzy but eventually the opposite ends up happening lol) when they very much could have. it felt almost meta watching segye admit that he himself at times considers being a noble idiot because he’s terrified seori will get dragged through the mud by being with him, then immediately watch him say he’s too selfish to even think of letting her go. and although seori tells his unconscious grandpa she’ll grant him his selfish wish and seeks taehee to ask her to protect segye, she’s mostly trying to make sure segye would be okay and taken care of and have a solid support system after she disappears (since she very much believes she will at this point.) i loved how she ultimately chose to tell him she was leaving but also asked him to spend whatever time they have left together instead of just breaking up with him or something. this in turn gave segye a chance to have a say in the matter as well (and rightfully so), and though his knee jerk reaction was to be incredulous and in denial at the absurdity of the situation (understandably so as well) he eventually realizes by the end of the episode how he was wrong to rush to think about his own devastation but failed to consider seori’s heartbreak as well. and like… this is good! this shit almost never happens in these types of stories! i also want to say that despite how frustrating it is to watch seori get hurt and injured time and time (and time) again, it’s at least almost never used as a plot device to get segye to emote or realize something (except for the getting lost in the forest one but well… that’s one classic trope i fear i will eat up every single time it gets a pass from me) instead it’s very much being used to move her own arc forward. and sure, he almost always shows up like a knight in shining armor in these situations but it’s not necessarily to save her? he just shows up to be a safe place for her to land. (also side note but at the beginning of episode 12 when shinsegye are in bed and he tells her not to worry and to get some sleep and that he’ll take care of everything tomorrow, i said out loud “you always say that” (with the implication that he never finds the time or chance to do shit ndneisnejs) only for seori to immediately say the exact same thing word for word and like. that shit was hilarious to me dkdnsksj like one thing about these characters is that they really are Very Self-Aware)
going back to shinsegye being passive instead of proactive and twenty steps behind everything and everyone… i just think it’s much more satisfying to watch characters go through highs and lows and win some and lose some more and struggle and stumble and break down and fall apart and then pick themselves right back up and fight back and take over the world instead of being strong and invincible and powerful all the fucking time! it makes for good and entertaining tv! i do admit this usually requires a certain delicate balance to strike in how you make your characters struggle (especially if they start off the story already pretty strong and smart) because otherwise it can easily veer off into character assassination territory, but i don’t think we’re necessarily seeing that with shinsegye either? like yes they’re moving a bit too slow right now but you can also argue they’re just busy with all the emotional stuff. and if that’s not a strong enough of an argument then well… sometimes life just do be messy like that. i also think the show has a tendency to play up the suspense angle quite a lot and set things up slowly then circle back to them when needed.
i think ultimately the overarching arc of the story at its core is the parallel timelines and how shinsegye must work on their own and together in order to change their fate in the present timeline and avoid repeating their doomed past. and i think the show’s literal title translation (brave new world) perfectly encapsulates this as well. it’s also been very apparent in the way they’ve woven the joseon scenes into the main story, where almost all of them would play out as a direct parallel to a scene happening in the present timeline, though at times with different endings in the present to (once again) push forward the idea of destiny changing. in the end, shinsegye will be stronger and braver in this timeline compared to the past and will eventually change their fate and get the happy ending they’re owed.
i assume part of the reason for some of the lukewarm reaction to this week’s episodes is maybe the gloomy and melancholic vibe of them? because they really had this overwhelming feeling of despair and impending doom when the previous episodes have been a true example of a romantic comedy. but this is how stories naturally progress and not just in romcoms but every other genre as well. we’re in the third act and are working our way towards the climax and the final resolution and things have to get worse before they get better.
at the end of the day, the show is far from being perfect and has its flaws and shortcomings like any other show. there are bits i’d personally change or do differently, and some things that i don’t understand (the extra actress going after seori? what’s her deal?) or just don’t care for (seori’s manager and rival co-star are cute and funny but you could cut out their scenes together and it wouldn’t really change much. same with taehee too) and the editing can be clanky and underwhelming at times as well. but in the grand scheme of things i really do think we’re watching and experiencing something so very interesting and fresh and great and so fun and goofy and silly and funny and whimsical and joyful and emotional and heartwarming, and this alone is worth celebrating.
(the show could also very much fail to stick the landing in its last two episodes and i’d just have to cower in shame and eat my words lmao but even then i still don’t think it would or should take away from how great of a show it is and has been so far.)
